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In general, "altitude" refers to distance above mean sea level (MSL or AMSL), "height" refers to distance above a particular point (e.g. the airport, runway threshold, or ground at present location), and "elevation" describes a feature of the terrain itself in terms of distance above MSL. [2] [3]
In aviation, the term elevation or aerodrome elevation is defined by the ICAO as the highest point of the landing area. It is often measured in feet and can be found in approach charts of the aerodrome. It is not to be confused with terms such as the altitude or height. [1] Part of a topographic map of Haleakala , showing elevation.
Runway 13R at Palm Springs International Airport An MD-11 at one end of a runway. In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. [1] Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (grass, dirt, gravel, ice, sand or salt).
The zero-elevation baseline or vertical datum to which a measurement of elevation or altitude is relative, e.g. the mean sea level calculated for a given location over a given period of time. [4] See also geodetic datum. de facto segregation The spatial and social separation of populations that occurs without legal sanction. [2] de jure segregation
The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context (e.g., aviation, geometry, geographical survey, sport, or atmospheric pressure). Although the term altitude is commonly used to mean the height above sea level of a location, in geography the term elevation is often preferred for this usage.
QFE - is the barometric altimeter setting that causes an altimeter to read zero when at the reference datum of a particular airfield (in practice, the reference datum is either an airfield center or a runway threshold). In ISA temperature conditions the altimeter will read the height above the airfield/runway in the vicinity of the airfield.
When the term is used to describe vertical position (of, e.g., an airplane) from sea level, height is more often called altitude. [1] Furthermore, if the point is attached to the Earth (e.g., a mountain peak), then altitude (height above sea level) is called elevation .
Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level varies in different countries due to different reference points and historic measurement periods.